A “web banner,” or “banner ad,” is a form of advertising on the Internet (and/or some other network). This form of online advertising entails embedding an advertisement into a web page that may be viewed by a web browser. It may be intended to attract traffic to a website by linking users to the web site of the advertiser. Such advertisements are generally constructed from an image (GIF, JPEG, PNG), or can be viewed by invoking a client within the web browser (e.g., a JavaScript program, Shockwave, Flash) that can generate a display with movement by running a script. Banner areas in which banner ads are placed are usually in a high-aspect ratio shape (i.e. either wide and short, or tall and narrow) hence the reference to banners. Banner ads are typically placed on webpages that have interesting content, such as a news article or an opinion piece, a blog, an email client, and/or other interesting content.
Typically, a web banner is displayed when a web page that references the banner is loaded into the web browser. This event is known as an “impression”. When the viewer clicks on the banner, the viewer is directed to the website advertised in the banner. This event is known as a “click through”.